shifrap

Hi! I would love some counsel on my planned trip to Carmel. I plan to leave early Sunday morning and head to Hearst Castle. From Hearst, we plan to drive up to Carmel. How much of the following can we do per day? Aquarium, Trolley ride, Point Lobos visit - how long does it take to visit? Then there's the 17 mile drive, mystery spot, santa cruz boardwalk, and big sur (what is there to do there other than the lighthouse? We also plan to visit the Winchester Mystery House. We have 4 days to do all of the above as we plan to head back to los angeles on Friday and I am worried about traffic home (should I be in that direction?) Am I missing anything? Thanks so much!

janisj

>> I plan to leave early Sunday morning and head to Hearst Castle>From Hearst, we plan to drive up to Carmel.

shifrap

Thank you for your response! My plan is to leave early morning Sunday and drive to Hearst Castle. Spend the afternoon there, and then drive up to Carmel in the early evening. Can't I take the highway instead of the 1 to Carmel? I would then have Monday through Friday when I would depart back to Los Angeles.

janisj

>> Can't I take the highway instead of the 1 to Carmel?

Patty

Taking 101 from Hearst Castle to Carmel would not save any time over Hwy 1 as you'd have to backtrack south to Cambria and take Hwy 46 east to 101. You're looking at about 2.5 hours of driving either way. If you leave Hearst Castle after an afternoon tour, you won't have time to make many stops along the drive through Big Sur. What time of year are you planning to do this?

There is a lot to see on the Big Sur drive aside from Point Sur Lighthouse which is only open for tours Wed/Sat/Sun except for July and August when it's also open on Thu. The tour itself takes about 3 hours (unless you're only interested in getting a glimpse of it from the highway). What are your interests? Do you want to hike? I'm going to copy and paste my reply to another thread which was going the opposite direction -

There are many viewpoints, parks and beaches along the Big Sur drive. It just depends on your interests. Traveling south, the first reserve is Point Lobos which has some easy coastal trails and is excellent for wildlife watching. The reserve opens at 8:00am and on weekends the parking lot fills early (even on weekdays the parking lot has been full by noon lately). If you can't drive in, you can always park along the highway. It's not a long walk into the reserve. If you paid to park here, keep your receipt as it's good at all of the other state parks the same day (Andrew Molera, Pfeiffer Big Sur, Julia Pfeiffer Burns). Garrapata is the next state park which is often overlooked by visitors. You'll see a cone shaped mound on the ocean side which is Whale Peak/Sobranes Point and an old barn and cypress grove on the inland side. Here is where you'll find some unmarked turnouts. It's a short walk up to Whale Peak for a nice view. On the inland side is a nice hike through a canyon that starts out as cactus covered hillside and enters a redwood grove. The whole loop is several miles long but you don't have to go far to see the redwoods. Garrapata beach is a few miles farther south. Another opportunity to see some redwoods is at Pfeiffer Big Sur state park. There's a short hike that takes you to Pfeiffer Falls that starts in redwoods. After Pfeiffer Big Sur is Pfeiffer beach which is a couple of miles down an unmarked sharp right turn. You'll see a yellow sign that says "narrow road, no rvs or trailers". The beach itself is federal so will require a separate $10 fee but there are some interesting rock formations where the waves crash through. McWay Falls at Julia Pfeiffer Burns state park is a must stop and a quick walk out to the viewpoint on the ocean side of the highway. Then there's Sand Dollar beach and Jade Cove. At Piedras Blancas is an elephant seal rookery which is another quick stop just by the highway. All of this and more is between Carmel and Hearst Castle. You probably won't have time to do them all so pick and choose based on your interests. Perhaps pack a picnic to save time and have it at one of the beaches or parks.

Again depending on your interest level, you could spend 2-3 hours at the aquarium, 2-3 hours at Point Lobos and maybe an hour for the more interesting coastal portion of 17 Mile Drive or consider dropping it altogether as you'll have seen some spectacular coastal scenery in Big Sur/Point Lobos. I don't know which trolley you're referring to.

Patty

I'd probably just do Santa Cruz as a day trip from Carmel instead of moving for 1 night. You can stop at Moss Landing state beach on your way to or from if you haven't gotten your fill of otters yet. This is also a good spot to kayak or take a whale watch cruise from if that interests you. On Friday you can take 101 home.

november_moon

Addressing some of the timing for visiting various spots:

"Aquarium, Trolley ride, Point Lobos visit - how long does it take to visit? Then there's the 17 mile drive, mystery spot, santa cruz boardwalk, and big sur (what is there to do there other than the lighthouse? We also plan to visit the Winchester Mystery House."

Aquarium - Plan on at least a couple of hours, but you could spend all day there if you wanted to. It really depends on the time you have available and your level of interest

Trolley Ride - I don't know what this is. There is a motorized trolley that goes around Monterey - but it isn't really an attraction, just a way to get to the most popular sights in the summer time.

Point Lobos - Plan a couple hours there - a little wandering around, checking out the tide pools, etc. Its a good place for a picnic too.

17 Mile Drive - Maybe an hour. This is something you can easily cut from your itinerary though if you are pressed for time. You'll have great scenery on the drive through Big Sur, and the kids will probably be more interested in activities outside the car rather than driving around more looking at scenery

Santa Cruz Boardwalk - This is great with kids. You could spend all day here and into the evening if you like, but you should plan at least a few hours to go on rides, play games, and eat junk food. If you want to spend time on the beach, add another couple hours.

Mystery Spot - I say skip this. It is supper kitchy and not worth the time and money you would spend, especially not with such a tight itinerary.

Winchester Mystery House - It will take you an hour to drive to SJ from Monterey, perhaps longer depending on traffic, so consider whether or not you want to spend an extra 2-3 hours on the road to see the Mystery House. For some it is a must-see, but really it is a very large, quirky Victorian house with a strange history.

jamie99

It is too far to drive from LA to Carmel in one day WITH kids and WITH a stop at Hearst (tour takes 2+ hours), also depends how old the kids are and if you can get them up and moving early in the AM. Young kids probably (but you will then need a few extra potty breaks), teens unlikely.

lynni

How old are your kids?

If they are older, they might like to watch the beach volleyball players at East Beach in Santa Barbara and walk around State Street... lots of college kids and shopping for that age group.

I would skip Hearst Castle entirely (no matter what their age) and focus on Point Lobos, the Aquarium and the boardwalk and surf museum in Santa Cruz. ( I do prefer Sunset Beach or Seacliff , further north. If there is any interest in California history, you can enjoy the Mission in Carmel and many of the historical buildings in Monterey. ( First theater etc...)If your children are small ( under four) the Dennis the Menace Park in Monterey is a well loved classic.

If you are driving the 1 at all, you want to do it during daylight hours because the views are stunning. It is slow going at times and you will be driving slow... not zipping along.

shifrap

Wow. Thank you all so so much. My kids range from 6 months to 13 years old but I cater my trips to the oldest common denominator. Also not sure when and if we will make tbis trip again so I want to make the most of it and hit all the high points. Unfortunately I couldn't find lodging in the san Simeon area for all of us so I had no choice but to spend all our nights in Carmel. That's why my only choice is to do Hearst castle on my way up and hope for the best. Driving to Carmel in the eve I don't want to drive the 1 based on what I read about driving the night. I want to make another day trip of big sur till how far I can make it (morro bay??) from Carmel. Is the three hour lighthouse tour interesting? Why is it so long? Are there any very interesting museums worthwhile? You mentionee a few above. Thanks SO much. And I was told there were no elephant seals this time of year. Is that correct? This is trip for now.

janisj

You can't possibly drive from LA to Carmel in one day w/ 3 or 4 kids and one an infant. Please reconsider!

Why no try driving as far as say Pismo Beach the first day and then do Hearst Castle the next morning and drive Big Sur afterwards.

Pismo Beach to San Simeon is about a one hour drive so w/ a morning tour you'd have half a day to explore Big Sur and get to Monterey before dinner time.

MichelleY

You cannot do day trips from Carmel to Morro Bay. Forget Hearst Castle with the age of your kids.

Patty

San Simeon has few accommodations. You can also look in Cambria, Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo, etc.

I believe there are some seals at the rookery year round but the numbers and activity that you'll see varies.

What time are you planning to book your Hearst tour? Right now, there's plenty of daylight if you just want to drive straight through from Hearst to Carmel on Hwy 1 without stopping. You could backtrack to 101 but it won't save time.

Or skip Hearst and drive 101 from LA to Carmel. Not sure how interesting the kids would find it.

For your day trip to Big Sur, I wouldn't drive all the way down to Morro Bay. I would definitely go as far as McWay Falls/Julia Pfeiffer Burns state park and possibly down to Limekiln state park, Sand Dollar beach, Jade Cove depending on your interests. You can spend a lot of time stopping at viewpoints, parks and beaches. I would pack a picnic and play it by ear.

Point Lobos can easily be visited on a separate day if you want as it's very close to Carmel.

I haven't taken the Point Sur Lighthouse tour but there is Point Pinos Lighthouse in Pacific Grove which can be a quick visit.

Definitely spend a few hours at the aquarium.

Not sure there are really any museums here that would hold the interest of kids spanning that age range. There's a small natural history museum in Pacific Grove. There's a children's museum in Monterey but it's for younger kids. There are old adobe buildings that are part of the Monterey State Historic park that can be toured.

You can check http://www.seemonterey.com/events/ to see if there are any special events that you might be interesting in attending during your dates.

lynni

Have you really looked into Hearst Castle for your baby? You will be carrying the infant the entire time you are on the property... there are hundreds of stairs and you will be miserable. (I was just there two weeks ago and the people who were carrying kids just plain looked miserable.) Not only that but you are in groupd of about 40 people and everyone must be silent to hear the tour guide. Talking children or babies making any noise at all are frowned upon. I wouldn't waste the money or the limited time you have for that. Really.

jamie99

I agree with Michelle Y and janisj, this is too far to drive, then you want to backtrack (what it sounds like) to Morro Bay? No, spend Night 1 in Morro Bay and Night 2 in Carmel. The Hwy 1 drive has to be driven at low speeds between Cambria and Carmel, you will be lucky to average 40-45mph in this section.

traveldawg

This post is mind boggling. No research and no simple look at the map. I live on Monterey Peninsula and have been in business in San Jose area for 23+ years. My business is about 1 mile from Mystery House. I have never been there. You are driving from LA to visit that? Let me know how it goes.

Most of the drive from LA to Hearst castle is just getting out of LA. No one can tell how long this will take if they do not know where you live in LA.

The Monterey Aquarium is $49.00 per person and takes a long visit to appreciate it. Good luck on spending the admission fee and running through.

Do some homework!

shifrap

Thank you all so much for your help. I did indeed spend untold hours researching but as miles didn't translate to hours in terms of travel time I kept getting stumped. And not knowing the area really made the planning difficult as there appeared to be so much to see and do and not enough time.

margotheangel

I loved Hearst Castle when I saw it as a child, so I'd still recommend it knowing the ages of your children, although I would have insisted on bringing a carrier for my son if I had brought him when he was six months old. (Do NOT bring a stroller, even if they happen to be allowed.)

So it sounds like you looked for a hotel in the San Simeon area on Sunday night and didn't find one. I'd recommend you look into one of two options:
1. Drive north from LA and stop before you get to San Simeon. As mentioned above, Pismo Beach would be a good option. You could also consider San Luis Obispo or Morro Bay. Drive to San Simeon the next day, tour the castle, and head to Carmel.
2. Switch the order of your trip. Drive straight to Carmel on Sunday night but leave a day or two earlier and drive home at a more leisurely pace, stopping at Hearst Castle. This means that you would be probably looking for a hotel south of San Simeon on Thursday night - maybe you'd have more luck.

I should mention that I also loved the aquarium in Monterey as a child (and still do!). It's not cheap, but you could easily spend half a day there. You would probably be happy with either a stroller or a carrier for your littlest one.